E01699
Literary - Other narrative texts (including Histories)
Liber Pontificalis
Liber Pontificalis 84
Iohannes, natione Syrus, de provintia Anthiochia, ex patre Cyriaco, sedit ann. I dies VIIII. Vir valde strenuus atque scientia praeditus et omnimodo moderatus.
'John, born in Syria, from the province of Antioch, son of Cyriacus, held the see 1 year 9 days, an energetic man,
knowledgeable, and in every way temperate.'
.....
Qui sanctissimus vir diutina infirmitate detentus, ut etiam vix ordinationes sacerdotum explere potuisset. Hic dimisit omni clero, monasteriis diaconiae et mansionariis solidos IDCCCC. Fecit autem episcopos per diversa loca numero XIII. Qui etiam sepultus est ad beatum Petrum apostolum sub die II mens. aug.
'This most holy man was weakened by long-term illness, so that he could hardly even complete the ordinations of priests (sacerdotes). To all the clergy, the monasteries serving the poor, and the mansionarii, he left 1900 solidi. He made 13 bishops for various places. He was buried at the blessed Peter the apostle on the 2nd day of August.'
Text: Duchesne 1886, 366-367. Translation: Davis 2010, 78-79, lightly modified.
Saint’s feast
Non Liturgical ActivityBurial ad sanctos
Protagonists in Cult and NarrativesEcclesiastics - bishops
Source
The Liber Pontificalis consists of a series of very short lives of popes. The preface attributes it to pope Damasus (366-384), but this attribution is obviously false. According to Louis Duchesne, the first modern editor of the Liber Pontificalis, the original series of lives was written in Rome by an anonymous author, probably a member of the lesser clergy, in the 530s, and contained the lives from *Peter the Apostle to Felix IV (ob. 530). Shortly after, before 546, the text was re-edited by another anonymous author and only this edition survives. The first edition, however, can be reconstituted on the basis of its two epitomes (and the second edition). The second edition started to be continued systematically from the time of pope Honorius (625–638). It should be noted that Theodor Mommsen dated both editions of the Liber Pontificalis to the 7th century, but his opinion is widely rejected and the commonly accepted dating is that of Duchesne.For the pre-Constantinian period (before 312), the credibility of the Liber Pontificalis is very low. The chronology is confused, and details concerning the personal lives, decisions and ordinations of the bishops of Rome at best reflect what people in the 6th century trusted to be true, at worst are a pure invention of the author. The situation changes with the later lives. Already the information of 4th-century papal foundations and offerings are generally trustworthy. The early 6th-century evidence, based on the author's first hand knowledge is even better, though still imperfect.
Bibliography
Edition:Duchesne, L., Le Liber pontificalis. 2 vols (Paris: E. Thorin, 1886-1892) (with substantial introduction and commentary).
Translation:
Davis, R., The Book of Pontiffs (Liber Pontificalis) (Translated Texts for Historians 6; 3rd ed.; Liverpool: Liverpool University Press, 2010).
Robert Wiśniewski
| ID | Name | Name in Source | Identity | S00036 | Peter, the Apostle | Petrus | Certain | S00890 | John/Iohannes V, bishop of Rome, ob. 686 | Iohannes | Certain |
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